Mail-bag catcher and deliverer.



J. D. LEONARD.

MAIL BAG GATGHER AND DELIVERER.

APPLICATION FILED 001'. 1a, 1912.

1,061,854. v Patented May 13, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Jfllemami wi/lmaoozo I sa COLUMBIA PLANOORAPH co.,WAsl-HN 1TON, n. c.

J. D. LEONARD. MAIL BAG GATOHER AND DELIYERER. APPLICATION FILED 001', 16,1912; 1,0 1, 54, Patented May 13, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

v/ v.1 \N) JOHN '.D. LEONARD, OF KENNETH, MICHIGAN.

MAIL-BAG CATCHER AND DELIVERER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 16, 1912.

Patented May 13, 1913.

Serial No. 726,077.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JOHN D. LEONARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kenneth, in the county of Mackinac, State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Bag Catchers and Deliverers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to mail bag catchers and deliverers.

The object of the invention resides in the provision of a device of the character named which is adapted to be loaded with mail bags it is desired to deliver and when so loaded utilized .to catch other mail bags disposed adjacent a moving train, the catching of such other mail bags serving to simultaneously discharge the mail bag with which the device was previously loaded.

With the above and other objects in View the invention consists in the details of con struction and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In describing the invention in detail reference will be had to the accompanying drawings wherein like characters of refer ence denote corresponding parts in the several views, and in which' Figure 1 is a side elevation of a fragment of a car door with the invention associated therewith and in inactive position. Fig. 2 a plan view of what is shown in Fig. 1 with the parts of the device in active position. Fig. 3 a section on the line 33 of Fig. 1 with the parts of the device in active posi tion. Fig. 4 a section on the line -14 of Fig. 1 withthe device in active position. Fig. 5 an elevation of what is shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 6 a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2. Fig. 7 a section on the line 77 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 8 a. section on the line 88 of Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawings 10 indicates the frame of a car door which has secured to opposite sides thereof outwardly projecting journal brackets 11 and 12. Each of the brackets 11 and 12 have the walls of their bores provided with a longitudinal groove 13 for a purpose that will hereinafter appear. The mail bag catcher and deliverer proper comprises a body portlon formed from a metallic rod bent upon itself intermediately and having its terminals directed oppositely and in longitudinal alinement as at 1 1 and 15 respectively. These terminals 14 and 15 are engaged in the bearings 11 and 12 whereby the body portion of the catcher and deliverer is rotatably supported.

It will be noted that by bending the intermediate portion of the body portion of the device upon itself the lateral extension 16 is formed. Secured to the end of the extension 16 adjacent the terminal 1 1 is a head 17 and a rigid arm 18 is secured to the head 17 and extends in divergence with respect to the terminals 14 and 15.

A pivoted clamping member is secured to the head 17 and adapted in one position to lie against the rigid arm 18. Said clamping member is formed from a single piece of metal bent upon itself to produce parallel side arms 19 and 20 which are disposed respectively on opposite sides of the head 17 and pivotally secured to said headby a com mon pivot pin '21. Pivotally mountedin a suitable opening formed in the extension 16 is a latch 22. Mounted on the extension 16 is a lug 23 which carries an adjusting bolt 24. A spring 25 has one end secured to the bolt 24 and its other end to the inner end of the latch 22, the tension of said spring being controlled by the manipulation of the nut threaded on the bolt 24: as will be apparent. The outer end of the latch 22 extends between the arms 19 and 20 of the clamping member and is adapted to engage a catch disposed between said arms for the purpose of holding the clamping member in set or active position against the influence of the operating spring of said clamping member. Mounted in an opening formed in the extension 16' and disposed between the inner ends of the terminals 14: and 15 is a tubular member 25 which constitutes the handle of the device. This tubular member 25 is provided with a hand grip 26 and has its outer end closed by a cap 27. Disposed withinth'e tubular member25 is a spring 28 and working in said member is a plunger 29 the stem of which is pivotally oonnected'to the arms 19 and 20 of the clamping member. By this construction it will be apparent that the spring 28 constantly tends to move the clamping member from set position toward the rigid arm 18.

Inclosing the head 17 and the ends of the arms 19 and 20 and pivotally connected to contiguous with the latter is a delivering arm 32 which is adapted to movein unison with the clamping member by reason of the fact that said clamping'member and the delivering arm are both secured to thecasing 31.

a The. terminal 14 is provided with a lug 33 which when the device is disposed in a plane right angles to the vertical plane of the 'carand moved longitudinally will enter the groove'13 of the bracket 11 and thereby lock 1thedevice-isqoperative position. The inner .end of the terminal-1 1 of the device is provided with a collar 34-and encircling this terminal with one end-bearing against said collar-and the other end bearing against the inner end of the-bracket 11 is a spring-35 which constantly tends to move the terminal 14 in the bracket 11 so as to maintain the lug 33 in the groove '13 of said bracket. The terminal 15 is tapered from its inner to its outer end so as to permit of a certain amount of-play in the bracket 12. This allowance .of play .of the terminal 15 in the bracket 12 will permit the terminal 14 to be disengaged from the bracket 11 and then moved laterally whereby the device may be bodily removed from the-brackets 11 and 12 and then reapplied-thereto in reversed position.

To effect the simultaneous operation of .catching and delivering mail bags through the medium ofthe device it is only necesbetween therigid arm 18 and the delivering arm 32vand then-set the clamping member 40 through the medium of the latch 22. When this is done the device is positioned at right angles to the vertical plane of the car in the 'manner heretofore described. The mail bagsuspended adjacent the track will enter between the rigid arm 18 and clamping member and disengage thelatch 22 from said clamping member when the latter will move under the influence of thespring 28 toward the rigid arm 18 and clamp the caughtmail bag between same and said rigid arm. During this movement of the clamping member toward the rigid arm 18 .the delivering arm 32 will be moved away from the rigid arm 18 by reason of the movement of the casing 31 and thereby effect :the. discharge ofthe mail bag or bags pre viously secured between the rigid arm 18 and said delivering arm. The shock eX- erted upon the device in catching a mail bag will serve to compress the spring 35 and shift thedevice longitudinally so as to disengage the lug 33 from the groove 13 of the bracket in which the terminal 14k is disposed. The device will then fall under the influence of gravity so as to lie in a plane parallel to the verticalplane of the car, in which position of the device the mail bag caught may be conveniently and readily removed by the operator within the car.

What I claim is 1. In a-mall bag catcher and deliverer the combmation with a car door frame, of a member rotatably mounted between opposite sides of said frame, a headsecured to said member, a rigid arm secured to said head, a clamping arm pivotally connected to the head and movable between said member and the rigid arm, spring means constantly tending'to move the clamping arm toward the rigid arm, a delivering arm pivotally connected with the head and disposed on the opposite side of the rigid arm from the clamping arm, and connectionsbetween said clamping arm and delivering arm whereby the movement of the clamping arm toward 2. In a mail bag catcher and deliverer the combination with a car door frame, of a member rotatably mounted between opposite sides of said frame, ahead secured to said member, a rigid arm secured to said head, a clamping arm. pivotally connected to the head and movable between said member and the rigid arm, spring means constantly tending to move the clamping arm toward the rigid arm, a casing inclosing said head and pivotally connected to the latter, connections between the casing and tl1e-cla1nping arm whereby the movement of the latter will effect a movement of the casing, a delivering arm secured to said casing and disposed on the oppositeside of the rigid arm from the clamping arm, said delivering arm being movable with the casing whereby the movement of the clamping arm toward and away from the rigid arm Will simultaneously move the delivering arm away from and toward the rigid arm respectively.

In testimony whereof, I afliX my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN D. LEONARD. W'itnesses MORLEY Gr. SMITH, FRANK J. ALLIsoN.

'l cbpies'otthispatent maybe obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

. Washington, D. C. 

